[Vascular prostheses: 50 years of advancement from synthetic towards tissue engineering and cell therapy]

Since more than 50 years, the gold standard in synthetic vascular prostheses has been represented by polyethylene terephtalate (PET, Dacron) and expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). These polymers perform well as sustitutes of large-caliber vessels, however, their long-term patencies are disappointing in small-caliber applications (< 6 mm). Thus, patient's own artery or vein remains the material of choice in coronary, crural or microvessel bypass surgery. Synthetic materials fail due to thrombosis and insufficient healing process that consists in highly incomplete endothelial cells coverage and intimal hyperplasia caused by compliance mismatch and hemodynamic imbalance. To find better small-caliber vascular graft, surgical techniques have been modified, novel biomaterials have been investigated and cell and tissue culture technologies have been adopted. Partly or fully tissue-engineered vascular grafts have been produced and experimentally and clinically evaluated with some promising result. The aim of this review is to briefly list currently used and examined vascular graft materials with special attention to cell/biomaterial ineractions, tissue engineering and authors' own experience.